What do you think the rest of Fred's joke about the Turkish Bath was that Ethel wouldn't let him finish?
shareI have no idea, but it definitely wasn't a joke for "mixed company" as they used to say. There was a time when men didn't tell off color jokes in front of women. Nowadays, women tell them!
shareIt was definitely supposed to be an off-color joke, as indicated by Ethel's reaction.
I've never understood this episode. It seems to me that a key element of the "Lucy Ricardo" character is her unshakable belief that her way is always THE way, and her talents are limitless. That Lucy should suddenly develop an inferiority complex because of a few reservations expressed by Ricky and the Mertzes seems to against the basic premise of the series.
I recently commented on this ep a few months ago. This was filmed while Lucy was (obviously) pregnant, but aired as a flashback ep after Little Ricky was born. The producers sorely missed an opportunity to air this WHILE the character was pregnant and point out that Lucy was having hormonal issues. All they had to do was write in the possibility by having Ethel suggest to Ricky that "it's her condition." The psychiatrist could've also mentioned this. This would've at least partially explained Lucy's uncharacteristic behavior in an otherwise mediocre offering.
shareWell said, Gary.
That would have been a reasonable and appropriate reason for Lucys change in attitude, and a good compliment to the "Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable" episode.
Given how gifted and invested in the show the writers were, I'm surprised they didn't think of it, but everyone's entitled to a "miss" now and then.
Gary's idea makes sense. But I doubt they would have considered doing it in the fifties. The show couldn't even use the WORD pregnant. It's doubtful they would have attempted to explain Lucy's mood owing to pregnancy hormones, etc.
They really tiptoed around Lucy's condition.
Huh? Ethel points to Lucy's "condition" for her short temper in "Lucy's Swan Song." That's all they had to do to offer some suggestion for her sudden moodiness and lack of self esteem.
share True. As I was writing my response I thought about Ethel saying something about Lucy's "condition" in another episode.
It was funny when Lucy said that she was a sorehead long before she thought about having a baby!
I just don't think that the writers would have pushed it too far by mentioning Lucy's hormones or her "condition" so often.
Lucy was obviously expecting in the inferiority complex episode. Maybe they should have attributed her feelings of inferiority to a sudden weight gain!
No, "hormonal" wouldn't have been accepted.
share